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Naomi Collins
Naomi Collins (1745?-1796) was an elegant and distinguished member of the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine in the latter half of the 18th century. She was the wife of Joshua Collins and the mother to Barnabas and Sarah Collins. She also had a sister-in-law named Abigail and a brother-in-law named Jermemiah. History Legend has it, that some time prior to her marriage to Joshua Collins, Naomi was involved with an unscrupulous mariner who presented her with his pirate horde of looted gemstones. This finery would later become known as the Collins family jewels. The story itself, though never confirmed, is commonly referred to as the Legend of Naomi Collins. Late in the year 1795, Naomi learned that her son Barnabas was engaged to marry a French aristocrat named Josette DuPres. Joshua and she arranged for the wedding to take place at the ancestral family mansion (367). Naomi was unaware of many of the machinations taking place at the estate during this time. A witch named Angelique Bouchard had manipulated events so that Josette would actually marry Barnabas’ uncle, Jeremiah Collins. Barnabas was then forced to abandon his plans with Josette, and enter into a marriage with Angelique herself. Desiring nothing more than to see her son happy, Naomi presented Barnabas with ownership of the original Collinwood (which eventually became known as the Old House) as a wedding present (395). Soon after, Naomi suffered the greatest tragedies in her life – the death of her children. First, she discovered that Barnabas had fallen ill from the plague and had passed away (in truth, he was cursed to walk the earth as a vampire, but at the time everybody believed that it was the plague that ended his life) (409). Soon after, the family governess, Victoria Winters warned Naomi that her youngest child, Sarah Collins was fated to die of illness very soon. Naomi was one of the few who gave creedence to Victoria’s strange assertions, and she frantically tried to safeguard her child to the best of her ability (413). Naomi couldn’t cheat fate however, and Sarah passed away from pneumonia after having spent the night in the rain only a few days later (415). In the months that followed, Joshua Collins discovered that Barnabas was a vampire. Frightened, and desperate to protect his son, he kept the secret safe from everyone, including his wife. He sequestered Barnabas away in the Tower room of the new family estate known as Collinwood. A soldier named Nathan Forbes likewise learned about Barnabas’ existance. He revealed everything he knew to Naomi and told her that Barnabas was the Collinsport Strangler. He further told her where she could find Barnabas’ coffin. Naomi ran over to the tower room to learn the truth for herself. She lifted the lid on Barnabas’ coffin and discovered that her son was now a vampire (456). Naomi’s mind could not handle the stark reality of the situation. She lapsed into a despondent malaise unwilling to accept the truth. That same evening, she witnessed the aftermath of Barnabas' attack on his his own cousin, Millicent Collins, who was driven mad by the experience. Unable to deal with the trauma any further, Naomi decided to take her own life by drinking a vial of poison (458). She was buried in the Collins family mausoleum at Eagle Hill Cemetery. The legendary Collins family jewels were said to be buried with her (210). Life Naomi Collins was an alcoholic. Her husband, Joshua, felt that her excessive drinking was a morbid embarassment to the family and would frequently keep her restricted to her bedroom until she was sober again (367). Notes * As illustrated in episode 210, the dates on Naomi’s memorial plaque at the Collins family mausoleum read 1761-1821. The birth date provided by the plaque is questionable as that would make Naomi thirty-five-years old at the time of her death. Given the relative age of actress Joan Bennett during filming of the 1795 flashback storyline, it becomes highly unlikely that Naomi was actually born in 1761. It could be explained that Naomi’s excessive drinking made her physically appear to be older than she actually was, but that still doesn’t account for her age in relation to her family members. If the 1761 date is to be considered canonical, then she would have been little more than a child when she gave birth to her son, Barnabas. * The 1821 date of death must be regarded as apocryphal as well. Episode 459 features the authoritative death of Naomi Collins as having taken place early in the year 1796. The discrepency between the dates can be contextually explained away as poor record keeping on the part of the civil servants in Collinsport. * Naomi Collins’ actual last appearance is in episode 458, but her death is not confirmed until episode 459. * Unlike many other residents at Collinwood, Naomi Collins is one of the few family members who’s ghost did not rise from the grave to plague the families of future generations. Category:Dark Shadows Characters Category:1795 Characters